Pawn In A Game
by Slytherin Cat
Summary: The 'right choice'. Such an easy thing to say, such a hard thing to do. Theodore Nott had to chose, but they had his mother.


This OS was written for the 'If You Dare' Challenge (Tick Tock Goes the Clock), The Harry Potter Spell Competition: Engorgio (Causes the object to grow. Characters can face something huge in their life), Your Favorite House Boot Camp (wish upon a star), Second Wizarding World War AU Competition (Theodore Nott) with the prompts black, smokescreen and 'They'll kill her', Tragedy Prompt Competition (strange), The Greek Competition (Epimetheus: Titan of afterthought and Father of excuses).

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**Pawn In A Game**

Theodore fingered lightly the cuff of his dress. He was standing outside Hogwarts, in front of a frozen part of the lake and the cold wind was rushing through his hair, slowly chilling him where he stood.

However, no matter how cold he was, or how he could almost not feel his fingers anymore, he would stay here. It was his own penance. He could still remember how he had sworn to his mother – after his father had been killed by the dark Lord (failed mission) – that he would stay neutral, that the Nott Family would not become involved in this second war.

Of course they should have known the Dark Lord wouldn't let one of his supporters go so easily. One would have thought that he wouldn't mind the loss of the Nott family, especially since his father had never been a very respected Death-Eater, nor a high-ranked one. However they had underestimated his need to control everything around him and the fact that he was now used to always get what he wanted.

The Ministry had fallen, Hogwarts was his and rebels were falling down each day. Potter had disappeared and so no one actually dared defying him head-on like the Gryffindor used to. Though some of his old mates tried to resist Hogwarts' new regiment, everyone knew the Dark Lord allowed them to continue because he knew they were not a menace.

Had Potter still been in Hogwarts, Theodore would have gone to him. No matter how little he liked his classmate, he would still take his protection any day over the Dark Lord's interest. Unfortunately the Gryffindor was unreachable and he knew better than to ask help from someone else – they would never trust him. No, he was obviously on his own for this.

As his eyes roamed over the dark lake – it was a moonless night, and the clouds, akin to a smokescreen, hide the shiny stars that could have shed some light on the dark mirror that the lake's surface was – he realized that his fingers kept getting drawn to his wrist. He let his hands fall and buried them deep in his pockets, on the half-hope they would warm up a little this way.

He had to make a choice – and what a choice it was: life or honor. Death or perjury – and he had to make it quickly, because he was running out of time. He probably would remember all of his life the black missive he had received nearly a week ago. The letter had been brought by a black raven that had disappeared as mysteriously as he had arrived, and wore the Mark as a seal.

Theodore had immediately known what it meant. To receive a letter sealed with the Dark Mark wasn't a good sign, it meant the Dark Order wanted something from you, and in this case the young Slytherin knew exactly what it was. They wanted him to join them, to do what his father had done, to do everything he had sworn he wouldn't.

He had less than a day left to give his answer, and though he wished he could say he didn't know what do to, he actually knew exactly what he would do, and that was what scared him. He had known since he had read that letter, since he had seen those horrible, terrible words written in a too fanciful script for what they said.

_We have your mother. Join us and she'll live. Don't and she will be the one to suffer._

_You have a week from this day on. For each day you fail to meet this deadline she will suffer._

_We trust you will make the right choice._

The 'right choice'. Such an easy thing to say, such a hard thing to do. And yet he knew what he should do. The problem was that he didn't want to do it.

"They'll kill her if I don't" His words, though spoken softly, echoed in the silence. He didn't expect any answer, of course, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he still had no right answer to his dilemma though he had voiced it.

His mother wanted him and their family to stay free but Theodore wanted her alive and well. He had never been very close to his father so his death hadn't really shocked him that much – plus he had sort of expected it after his father had revealed his failures to meet the Dark Lord's order – but he knew that his mother's life was precious. She was so nice and wise that he had always wondered why she had married her father, since he knew it wasn't for money or love.

Tick tock went the clock, and the end of hourglass was far too close to his liking. He didn't want to bind himself to a mad man – one that had nonetheless killed his father – but he really didn't want his mother dead either. He was at loss at what to do, and had nobody he could talk to, because the one person he normally talked to was currently held prisoner somewhere.

He had already made his decision though, but he just wished someone was here to tell him whether or not he should do it, if it was worth it. His mother would say no, of course but he would make his own decision and just this one time, he wouldn't listen to his mother.

Even if it was the wrong choice, even if he would hate himself for doing this, even though he would probably regret it until his death, he couldn't do anything else than save his mother. He knew people would try to make him one of the bad guys, but he also knew he wouldn't be doing anything else should he have another chance to make that choice.

That was quite strange actually, and had someone told him what would happen, what he would do this year he wouldn't have believed them – this kind of actions wasn't his style, this wasn't why he had chosen Slytherin.

When the Hat had sorted him into the Snakes' House, he thought it would give him the connections he would need for the future of his family. He hadn't expected it to lead him to this, to making those terribly hard choices all year-round and overall just failing to fulfill each and every promises he had made.

He sighed and looked up to the starry sky above him – though his mind had not cleared, the clouds hiding the sky had – only to see a shooting star.

He smiled bitterly. It was just his luck that he could make a wish upon a star when he was in such a hopeless situation and that he had never believed in that tradition – but his mother did, so he would, if only to please her one last time.

_I wish everything could end._

The following morning, he would give his decision to his teacher – yeah, no need for an owl these days - and he would be taken to the Dark Lord to take his mark. Because, really, what other choice was there for him? He wasn't brave like a Gryffindor or clever like a Ravenclaw who would already have organized a rescue mission or made a desperate attempt to attack those holding his mother.

He was a Slytherin, and he was the best at surviving – no matter the costs. He knew the odds of everything in this sad game, and he also knew he was but a pawn, with no chance to escape his designated fate.

And apparently life had decided he would be on the wrong side.


End file.
